World

Rihanna is Providing Scholarships and Bicycles to Girls in Malawi

Not only does our beloved Badgal ceaselessly amaze us with her dope tunes, versatile style and badass attitude, but she has fearlessly committed herself to put her influence to good use. Harvard Humanitarian of the Year, Rihanna has been an advocate for global health and equal access to education over the past decade. In 2012, she founded the Clara Lionel Foundation, named in honor of her grandparents Clara and Lionel Braithwaite, which supports and funds “groundbreaking and effective education, health and emergency response programs around the world.”

CLF’s latest endeavor, “1 KM Action,” is taking initiative to support young girls’ education in Malawi. The project, involving a five-year partnership with Beijing-based bike sharing company ofo, will fund scholarships to female students in the country through RiRi’s Global Scholarship Program, as well as provide bicycles to facilitate their commutes to school.

In January 2017, Rihanna visited Malawi with Clara Lionel and Global Citizen to raise money for the project, and to speak to students, educators and government officials about how to “build a better educational future for Malawians.” Peep footage of her trip below:

As explained in the video, while 70-75% of students get into primary school, only 8% of them finish secondary school, with the drop-out rate amongst female students being particularly high. “It’s such a pity that they have to drop out, because they are so smart,” Rihanna says. “Everybody’s learning together and learning at the same pace, it seems. It’s sad that has to end for some of them, because they could probably do so much if they had the resources to continue and complete.”

Here’s to hoping that Rihanna’s efforts can make a change for these Malawian girls, because education is a right, not a privilege.